We are certainly living in some interesting times.
On one hand, socialism has once again gained momentum into our public education curriculum, and its effects on millennials are obvious. We have seen unusually high advocacy for government ownership of the means of production. It’s evident in soft ways such as government schools appointing taxpayer funded panels of bureaucrats, whose job is to facilitate so called “Safe Spaces” or “Free-Speech Zones”, and it’s evident in a more malicious sense… in that an ever increasing amount of similar appointed bureaucrats now exist in the real world of commerce, and their presence involves real and deep rooted economic consequences, as these panels shall, most arbitrarily, dictate what A and B shall produce, in a designated fashion and quantity, for C. If their decisions do not lead to the ideal outcome (which I believe is the overall material well-being of individuals population, and the facilitation of individual freedom and choice) it means very little, as government authority has the full coercive force of the police to ensure their whims are carried out in good faith.
On the other, tech savvy coders have created a decentralized economy that stands to free individuals from the bounds of collectivization and bureaucratic red tape. While still in their infancy, the potential for virtual currencies is there. Bitcoin and altcoins can free up markets, and allow individuals to produce and consume in a manner that best suits their own individuality.
Perhaps the advantages of virtual currency can be exemplified with the following scenario: If I decide I want to braid my neighbor’s hair in exchange for money, I can accept cash. But if word gets out that my services are of high desirability and my customer base begins increasing, it’s only a matter of time before the local occupational licensing board comes knocking on my door, claiming that in order to perform such services legally, I must be licensed by their panel, I must attend their overpriced school, and that if I do not comply, force will be escalated against me to shut me down, as I am running an unauthorized, unlicensed business.
If you don’t believe such a thing can really happen, what I described in the above paragraph is a true story. Google Melony Armstrong to find out what happened.
Enter Bitcoin. By accepting bitcoin as payment I’m only engaging in barter, which generally not viewed as taxable commerce needing regulation. Granted, the licensing board may come to harass me still, but I would feel better knowing they cannot easily seize my earnings by freezing my law-breaking bank account.
The above is only one example of government getting in the way of an individual who simply wants to make an honest living by providing products or services that people need. Some say government oversight is required for safety reasons, I don’t buy it. In this case, hair braiding doesn’t even involve anything sharp. But even if it did, if you hurt someone on the job you can already be sued out of existence, or even criminally charged in cases of extreme negligence, regardless of the presence of a licensing panel.
As an individual, government decides what services shall be available to me. I would never want my hair braided, but if I did, I would not consider licensure to be any kind of assurance of quality. I would consider if liked the braids to be my assurance of quality.
Government also decides what services I shall be forced to pay for. If I think the police in my community are lazy, entitled, and overpaid, I am forced to pay their salary regardless of how terrible of a job they do. Their public sector union also makes it next to impossible for an incompetent officer to be fired, and also increases the likelihood that only friends and family of said incompetent officer shall be hired. Some say “well their job is very dangerous… they deserve the salary for protecting our community”. I’m sorry to say, but labor statistics disagree. A lumberjack is currently the most dangerous job here in the United States. Police and Firemen are number 14 and 15, and the curve looks more like a logarithm than a direct relationship. A lumberjack only makes money off the wood once. Once the wood builds a house, Police, Firemen and other government employees profit off it forever because property taxation pays for their salary and pension.
I may sound like a bit of a naysayer, but all in all, the United States is one of the best places in the world to live. But why? I believe it’s because, up to this point, we’ve been able, relatively speaking, to avoid the concentration of political power, such that commerce has been free enough to improve the standard of living to where we have it today. I believe it happened IN SPITE of government, not because of it.
Bitcoin and other altcoins can help break up the regime. I look forward to seeing how things will pan out in the years to come.